This invention relates to a device and an associated method for improving the efficacy of a personal support. particularly, this invention relates to a device and an associated method for automatically affecting the form, contour and/or support pressure of a personal support such as an article of clothing, a safety or protective device, or an article of furniture. Even more particularly, this invention relates to a method and associated apparatus for providing an automatically controlled massage.
Automated massage devices, such as vibrating beds and chairs, as well as smaller, hand-held vibrators, have been known for many years. Vibrations are generated by any of several mechanisms, including, for example, motors provided on rotors with eccentrically mounted weights. The vibrations are regular and can be varied generally only as to frequency. Also, it is to be noted that vibration based on massage may contribute to somatic resonance of specific body parts, e.g.,the spine at 5-7 Hz, leading to fluid reduction and increased stress.
A more recent development in the art of automated massage comprises a periodic inflation and deflation of a bladder provided, for example, in the lumbar area of a chair. The bladder inflates and deflates the same amount, regardless of the particular anatomies of the individual users, i.e., regardless of the locations of apexes of spinal curves and curvatures.
Because conventional massage equipment does not account for differences among individuals, massage treatment is not only generally suboptimal but may also exacerbate injuries or introduce deviations leading to organic stresses.
It is to be noted that automated massage systems can be applied not only to support surfaces such as chairs and beds, but can be useful in promoting healing in areas surrounded by personal supports such as therapeutic braces. Athletic equipment, too, can benefit by controlled massage.
Another kind of personal support surface is a bed or a chair. It would be desirable, for instance, to modify the support characteristics of a bed in accordance with the stress or loads experienced by different parts of the user's body, in order to minimize unhealthy stress distributions. Stress on a sleeper's body can be estimated in part by determining the posture of the sleeper. More specifically, a person sleeping on his stomach is apt to require different support than a person lying on his side or his back. Optimally, the rigidity or firmness of different parts of a mattress should be varied depending on the posture of the sleeper.